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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Currently- October 2015

Book
Once again I'm immersed in Tudor times via the Matthew Sahrdlake series by C.J. Sanson, but I'm also rereading an old favorite, Bellwether by the brilliant Connie Willis. It involves fashion, trends, and chaos theory in a sort of a science fiction delicious novel. I'm also expecting Lisa Eldridge's book about the history of makeup to get here tomorrow. I'm not sure how much sleep I'm going to get in the coming nights, but I'm sure it's going to be fun.

Music
Iggy Pop- Candy. He's still one of the greatest.

Perfume
I'm deeply haunted by the Papillon perfumes I wrote about last night. also, my fall staple, Fumerie Turque.

Makeup
Red lipsticks. Warm red, plummy red, sheer red. All the reds.

Frequently Worn Outfit/Item
A black zip-front yet tailored Ralph Lauren jacket I bought fifteen years ago during a Labor Day sale. It's still perfect and goes with everything from little dresses to jeans and flowy tops.

Guilty Pleasure
I bought a piece of fashion jewelry I've been coveting for a very long time.

Food
Do cookies count?

Bane
My inability to forgive, forget, and let go.

Joy
Having friends over. I love the way people I love relax and feel at home here.

Anticipation
My birthday.

Wishlist
All the cashmere.

Random Thought
I wish the judges on Project Runway would stop using terms like "matronly" and "old lady" as criticism. They're not equivalent to dated, frumpy, or plain ugly. Not to mention that high fashion is not and should not be limited to the very young. It's even more annoying since Nina Garcia and Tim Gunn are not exactly spring chickens. Neither is Heidi Klum.

How are you doing? Please share your recommendations, loves, banes, and random thoughts!Art by Frederick Sands Brunner for Ladies' Home Journal, October 1923

Book - Amy Poehler "Yes, Please"TV - Public Morals, Fargo, too many more to listPerfume - Bottega Veneta and PdE Equistrius, because it's still to darn hot to wear anything else.Food - Singaporean roti prata with curry sauceBane - My inability to declutter and organizeJoy - My recent college grad daughter who moved out, yet still shows up for dinner several times a weekAnticipation - My birthdayRandom Thoughts - I'm with you about Project Runway. I believe that not everything needs to be young or sexy. I finally have plenty of money to spend on clothes, but little desire to dress like a young tramp. Searching for modern, elegant, sophisticated clothes with an edge.

You know, I think age-appropriate clothes can be very sexy in their own way. I just don't want to walk around with bits hanging out (sometimes hard for the bustier among us). I mostly wear DVF with J Crew and Neiman Marcus basics, an occasional dark denim from one of the edgier designer brands (currently loving Rag & Bone) and some LK Bennett. If it's good for Kate it's good for me ;)

A greenhouse! Wow! I'm so jealous. Could use one here to have fresh basil all year round.For some reason I forgot the TV category. We're also addicted to the British baking show. Of course, it increases our pastry consuption, but so worth it.

Book: Rereading Virginia Woolf's Letters (Vol. 2 at the moment) - something very comforting about going back and rereading books I've had and loved for so long. But Bellwether sounds brilliant and just ordered it.

Music: Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left - always seems perfect for fall. And right now can't get enough of Richard Butler's Good Days, Bad Days.

Clothing/Joy: Got two amazingly beautiful new coats for fall - one in ombreed peach and the other in a sort of vintage shade of pale blue (reminds me of the color of a 1950s kitchen appliance, which doesn't sound brilliant for a coat, but actually is).

Perfume: Lots of Bergamoss recently. And must get out FT - how I love that scent.

Bane: One of our children is extremely ill with a mystery illness. It's beyond what our wonderful regular vet can handle, so he's being treated at the NC School for Veterinary Medicine, specializing in small animals. It's one of the best in the country and we've been lucky to receive really excellent care for some of our other children there before, but this time we have a doctor who has a horrendous bedside manner and is constantly questioning whether or not it's worth it for us to continue with testing to figure out what is wrong. I expect this questioning from my in-laws (who think we're insane for how we treat our beloved hirsute children), but not from a vet. We're far from wealthy, so it's not a casual thing for us to be spending this much (currently at 9K and it will be going up), but would a doctor question us if it were a human child? Ugh! I know it might seem that he's simply concerned for our finances, but, trust me, that's not at all how he comes across. Sorry, but just got back from visiting with our child and had to vent. On the positive side, I do trust his expertise - even if I don't care for his attitude and, at the end of the day, it's his expertise that matters.Anna

Anna, I hope you find out what is wrong with your beloved animal. I must say, you confused me tremendously with your talk of your children and your child, until I realized you were talking about your pet. I too love my pets (currently down to 2 cats), but your post was a bit confusing!

Bisbee,I'm sorry for the confusion! DH and I don't have human children and we just have gotten so used to thinking of and referring to our pets as our children that I'm afraid I do it automatically, although I really do need to remember to clarify. AnnaElizabeth,Thank you so much for your thoughts! Truly, much appreciated during this scary limbo time.Anna

Oh Anna! I'm so sorry about the stress and all that goes with it. You know that I've been there and fully understand. There's no expense I'd spare when it comes to the well-being of the darling creatures. They ARE our family and mean the world to us. My husband also asked me to give you his best wishes for the sweet fur baby. Please keep us updated (and if you don't mind, please email me so we can chat).

I love your "currently" posts <3Book: New fabulists anthologyMusic: Mono Perfume: Musc Ravageur, non stopMakeup: not much, really, since my skin is already starting to change and everything is an uncontrollable mess.Frequently worn: massive protective cashmere scarvesguilty pleasure: does chocolate with caramel count as a guilty pleasure or just as pleasure?food: any roasted starch.bane: little sleep, too much work which causes little sleep; everything that does not let me sleep!joy: eating squash in unhealthy amounts. anticipation: seeing one of my best friends after almost 2 years!wishlist: a magical moisturizer that won't break me out and deeply hydrates and fixes the current mess.random thought: following on Gaia's bane: how do I forget things (still!!) stuck in my brain? I guess you don't forget until one day you forget but then you don't really notice you have forgotten because the unforgettable is not actually in your mind anymore and second random thought: I'm afraid I won't see many yellow leaves this year. Where are they? Are we going to go straight to cold and snow? Where are the yellow and orange and red I so desperately need?

How nice to hear shared tastes - love Connie Willis, despite not really caring for science fiction! Candy is so great. And happy to find out about the new New Order stuff! Will just mention my beloved Miss Dior, original of course. Sense of smell isn't working too well but I'm trying and hoping, every day!

Book - The History of Rum (still) and Vampire in the Lemon GrovesTV - The human male got us Hulu. And now we binge.....Perfume - I'm in a trying mood. I just ordered new ones to try and am giddy with anticipation waiting for them. Food - All the breads. Zucchini the size of cats, made to bread. Overripe bananas made to breads. ALL the breads! (With a side of pie. Apple. Made by me.)Bane - Moving. Still. Will it never end the moving of stuff? And all the accompanying decluttering and downsizing is evil. Joy - Beloved niece is flourishing at new education opportunity.Lipstick - Again, the trying mood. I've just sampled a more summery series from Kismet Cosmetics. Naked Gypsy, Crushed Coral and Wildflower. Now I want more new make-up! (It's good to shake things up.)Random Thoughts - Politics tires me. I'd rather hear about cooperation than more fingerpointing.

Alexandria, I still cringe thinking of the last time we've moved six years ago. It's one of the biggest banes, for sure.I remember nearly falling asleep in one of those massive boxes at four am after a(nother) night of packing). But the biggest satisfaction was arranging my perfume collection in its new cabinets.

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